Dose of Reality for Trust Fund Kids
Reality (along with a little schadenfreude) has come to the post-college rental market in Williamsburg: According to an article in The Times this weekend, the twenty-somethings who’ve been able to rely on Mom and Dad when the first of the month rolled around are finding that they have to come up with the rent the…
Reality (along with a little schadenfreude) has come to the post-college rental market in Williamsburg: According to an article in The Times this weekend, the twenty-somethings who’ve been able to rely on Mom and Dad when the first of the month rolled around are finding that they have to come up with the rent the old-fashioned way now that the older generation is struggling more under the weight of the financial crisis. And while having less time to play in a band or work on a canvas may not be music to the ears of those used to being on the receiving end of parental largesse, some who watched jealously without help can’t help but take some pleasure in their neighbors’ misfortune. If I’m going to be completely honest, it does make me feel a little bit better, said one struggling wallpaper designer. It’s bringing a lot of Williamsburg back to reality.
Parents Pulling the Plugs on Williamsburg Trust-Funders [NY Times]
Photo by Ando228
Some people just don’t need to work that hard in life. That’s the way it has always been. Fitzgerald famously wrote that we shouldn’t judge the rich because they are different. Some people walk, some take the bus, some sail.
I took the bus this weekend in Clinton Hill, I was walking around tourist style. I have not been on a bus in a long time. I just got tired of walking. I was surprised to see when I got on that although the bus was very crowded I was the only white person, the only one, including the driver, on the bus. Now I ask you? Do we really think we’ve come a long way baby?
One of the main reasons people make money in life is so they can help their children. I’m sure these kids will spend the majority of their lives working “responsible jobs” – why begrudge them a few years of pursuing their dreams? sour grapes…
so they had to “slum” it for awhile?
isnt that what everyone is bitching about right now?
Say Buh Bye Retards! Thanks for the memories!!!
The What (Tick.. Tick.. Tick..)
Someday this war is gonna end….
What amazes me, as always, is the sense of entitlement. There’s nothing wrong with having money, even if it’s money from your parents, but I add my voice to the “GET A JOB!!” chorus.
I disagree with the chicken’s point about not blaming the kids. While they may have been raised in a certain environment, at some point they become adults able to think on their own and self-evaluate. If someone is really so unreflective that they’ve never thought, “hey! I ought to get a job and see what the world is like,” there’s something wrong.
Unfortunately our elite has almost completely lost the old values of service, hard work, and noblesse oblige. It used to be that virtually all sons of wealthy families were expected to serve in the military or work in an ordinary job for awhile. I think it was Dean Acheson who worked on a merchant ship after oollege, and many others started at the bottom and worked their way up the ladder of the family business. Of course they had a sense of security and got special treatment, but at least they weren’t shocked at the idea of working eight-hour days.
rich grandparents are the best things in the world. If you don’t have rich grandparents then you need to deal with life the same way that 99% of Americans deal with it.
Whether rich or poor, having parents or relatives co-sign a lease or mortgage is a major humiliation. Most co-ops do not even accept such co-signs.
What is bunch of ill-reported drivel slanted to provoke contraversy and to confirm stereotypes without illuminating. Perhaps there would be a venue for such “articles” – I hear there is something called “blogs.”
while i grew up solidly upper middle class, attended college with true trust fund kids. these people have income off of a huge pile of money that is willed to them by previous generations and not given to them by their parents.
the use of the word trust fund by curbed and the like to describe parents giving kids a couple of bucks, is silly.
agree that this article is poor journalism. no part of me believes that 40% of purchases is by young 20 somethings who are entirely funded by income outside of their employment. it’s bull. there are no stats to back this up. there are, however, many 20 something renters.
also, there are actual artists, musicians and the like in williamsburg who work hard and are successful and not “pretending” or anything else so ridiculous. just this weekend met a couple that have been in bburg for over 10 years – both artists, and the husband heads up a graduate arts program for a major nyc university.
at least they’re consistent in action when they rail against evil capitalism and hope for redistribution of wealth. oh, except for the pesky fact that they’re among the biggest consumers and label whores.